The Murder of a Murderer
by JasonMorganfan87
Summary: Takes place in season four. The team investigates the murder of a man that Tim hates above all else and soon be comes the prime suspect in the man's death. Will the team prove he didn't do it or is the harsh truth that their teammate has done the unthinkable?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS or any of its characters**

**The Murder of a Murderer**

Tim stepped off the elevator and headed for his desk. Tony and Ziva were both there as well. Gibbs wasn't there, but his things were.

"Good morning, McGee," Ziva greeted.

"Hey, Probie," Tony said.

"Tony, Ziva," Tim said somewhat distracted as he sat down at his desk

"Are you alright, McGee?" Ziva asked.

"I'm fine," he said.

"You don't seem fine, Probie. You look like someone just killed your pet," Tony said.

"You got the killed part right, DiNozzo," Gibbs said as he strode through the bullpen to his desk. "Got a marine found dead in his apartment. Grab your gear."

Everyone immediately grabbed their things and headed for the elevator.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

The team, minus, Ziva, who was talking to the witness, was standing around their victim as Ducky and Jimmy examined the body. "The victim was shot between the eyes. I'll have to wait for the autopsy to say for sure, but I'd wager that is what killed him."

"Yeah, I'd say that's a safe bet, Duck. Time of death?" Gibbs asked.

"Again, I can't say for sure, but probably sometime last night," Ducky said.

"There was no sign of forced entry, Boss. It might have known his killer and let him in," Tony said.

Ziva came over at that moment. "The woman that found him was his girlfriend. She came to surprise him with breakfast this morning and found him. She was able to tell me that his name was Colin Bradley. He's a former Corporal."

"Girlfriend, huh? Twenty bucks says she did it," Tony said.

"Why is it that you always think it is the wife or the girlfriend," Ziva asked mildly annoyed.

"Because it always is," Tony said simply.

"We already have her statement. Anything else can wait until we have more informaiton. Meanwhile, let's start processing. Tony, you and Ziva start bagging and tagging. McGee, you take pictures," Gibbs instructed before walking away.

Tony and Ziva also left.

Tim took his camera out and started taking pictures. The look on his face as he started snapping the photos of the victim was that of pure hatred.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

A few hours later, Gibbs stepped into Autopsy where Ducky was working on the victim. "What do we got, Duck?"

"I'm still working on it, Jethro. I have, however, removed the bullet and sent it to Abby. Oh, and I've narrowed down time of death. I'd say it was between eight and midnight last night. Something is bothering me though," Ducky said.

"You find something else?" Gibbs asked.

"No, nothing like that. It's his name. I could swear I'd heard it before," Ducky said. He couldn't pinpoint where he'd heard it, but the name Colin Bradley just sounded so familiar.

"You know the victim, Duck?" Gibbs asked surprised.

"Oh, no, of course not. I would remember if I'd met the man before. But I feel as though I must have heard of him. I don't know from where though. I can't recall," Ducky said. It was really bugging him. He'd always prided himself with having a decent memory, despite his age, yet he couldn't seem to figure out where he knew this man's name from.

"From the news."

Both men turned to see Director Jenny Shepard standing a few feet away.

"You know something about this, Jen?" Gibbs asked.

"I'm surprised you don't," Jenny said as she walked towards them. Well, actually, since you don't watch TV, I suppose I'm not. Colin Bradley was plastered all over the news for months."

"For what?" Gibbs asked.

"He was arrested and tried for the rape and murder of a woman in California. He was said to have forced her into his car outside a convenient store. He drove to a secluded place where he raped her and then slit her throat. She was found by the police the next day," Jenny said.

"Good Lord. Yes, now I remember. It was about fourteen or fifteen years ago. The man got away with it," Ducky said.

Jenny nodded. "It was a technicality. The DNA evidence was thrown out due to the police not going through correct protocol. Without it, the jury couldn't convict."

"You remember all this from the news?" Gibbs asked skeptically.

"No. I remembered the man being accused of some kind of murder. I researched the rest on the internet and then got ahold of court transcripts," Jenny said.

"Well, this changes things. It brings in a lot of suspect. I'll get McGee to locate the family of the woman Bradly killed and see if any of them might have done it," Gibbs said. Honestly, after what he just found out, he had no real interest in getting justice for this piece of crap, but it was his job.

"I can already tell you some, as well as give you a suspect. After the trial, the woman's fifteen-year-old son made a very loud and public threat," Jenny said. She was not looking forward to telling Gibbs who that boy grew up to be. He wasn't going to be happy with the turn this case was going to take.

"Well, I can't really blame him for that, Jen. The bastard murdered his mother. I'd do more than threaten if I were him. But we'll bring him in," Gibbs said. Again, he had no desire to rip this family apart, as they'd already gone through enough, but what choice did he have.

"No need, Jethro. He's already here. Oh, and by the way, Agent McGee can have nothing to do with this case," Jenny said.

"And why's that?" Gibbs asked through gritted teeth.

Jenny sighed. "The woman that Bradley killed was the wife of a newly appointed navy admiral. Her name was Allison McGee. "

Gibbs looked at his boss and former lover in shock. This was one thing he was not expecting.

"That's right. Special Agent McGee was her son, the boy who openly threatened this man," Jenny said as she pointed to the dead body on the table. "He just became our prime suspect.


	2. Chapter 2

Gibbs was shocked to say the least about this new revelation. He never even knew McGee lost his mother, let alone that she was murdered. Then again, McGee rarely ever spoke about his private life, so it shouldn't be too surprising.

Gibbs looked over at the dead body on the slab. Actually, he glared at it. This piece of crap had caused his agent an immense amount of pain. He'd destroyed the man's family, much like Pedro Hernandez had destroyed Gibbs' own family. It wasn't exactly the same, but it was similar enough.

Ducky's voice interrupted Gibbs' thoughts. "Director, are you sure about this? McGee is a very common surname. It's possible that it is merely a coincidence and that Timothy has nothing to do with this."

"Rule thirty-nine, Duck," Gibbs said. He didn't wanna believe that McGee had lived through such a tragedy either, but he didn't believe in coincidences.

"Plus, he's mentioned by name in court transcripts," Jenny said.

Ducky shook his head in disbelief. "He didn't say a word at the scene."

"If he killed him, he wouldn't have," Jenny said.

"McGee's not a murderer. He couldn't do this," Gibbs said. Even as he said it though, he wasn't sure. It was true that McGee wouldn't be capable under normal circumstances. He was the kindest man you ever met, to a fault even. He couldn't even bring himself to raise his voice at DiNozzo, for God's sake. But they were talking about the man that raped and killed his mother. All bets were off when something like that happened.

"You don't think so, Jethro? This man killed his mother. You think he didn't want him dead? I can assure you he did. His own words are proof of that. He threatened Bradley right after he was acquitted. He lunged at him even. It took his father and a court officer to hold him back," Jenny said.

"That seems so unlike Timothy, though under the circumstances, it isn't completely shocking," Ducky said.

"No, it's not," Jenny said. She could emphasize with what McGee must have felt that day and what he felt now. She knew what it felt like to have someone get away with the murder of one of her parents and to want them to pay. It was how she knew that he very well could've done this.

"He was fifteen, and a threat doesn't mean action," Gibbs said.

"No, but it gives him motive. He's a suspect, Jethro. This needs to be investigated," Jenny said seriously.

Gibbs was quiet for a few moments before speaking again. "I'll talk to him."

"No, Jethro. _We _will talk to him," Jenny said firmly with authority.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Tim was sitting at his desk staring into space. He thought about the SOB currently in Autopsy. He'd spent fifteen years hating that man. He was probably the only man in the whole world he hated, whom he wished dead. Now he was dead.

Tim would freely admit that he felt satisfaction from that son of a bitch's death, but not as much as he thought he would. He'd envisioned this happening every day for years, but it wasn't nearly as satisfying as he thought it would be. At the end of the day, his mother was still dead. But the satisfaction of knowing Bradly was dead too was there, even if not as strong as he wanted it to be.

"Man, Probie, Gibbs is gonna kill you."

Tim glanced at Tony for a minute, but then went on ignoring him.

"You haven't touched that computer since Gibbs left. When he gets back and finds out you didn't find the information he wanted, you're a dead man," Tony said with a small smirk.

Speaking of Gibbs, at that moment he came through the bullpen at that moment with the director and headed right for them.

"I hope you're ready to die, McMoron," Tony said.

"Agent McGee, follow us please," Jenny ordered as she led the way towards the stairs to her office.

Tim wordlessly got up and followed Gibbs and the director up the stairs and to her office. Once he was inside, he closed the door.

"Can I trust that you know why you're here, Agent McGee?" Jenny asked.

Tim nodded. He knew exactly why he was called to the director's office. He had been waiting for it. "I was expecting it."

"Do you want a lawyer present?" Jenny asked.

Tim shook his head.

Jenny gestured towards the table just a few feet from her desk. "Have a seat.

Tim sat down at the end of the table.

Gibbs and Jenny sat across from each other and next to Tim. "Why the hell didn't you say anything, McGee?" Gibbs asked.

"I knew you'd figure it out and I really didn't want to explain it myself. It was hard enough to live through," Tim said. What happened to his mother had been the worst thing to ever happen to him

"Agent McGee, I've gone over the court transcripts from Bradley's trial. You threatened him. You screamed in front of dozens of witnesses that you would kill him. You even set out to carry out that threat by attempting to physically attack him," Jenny said.

Tim nodded unashamed.

"He was fifteen, Director," Gibbs defended. Of course he knew it really wouldn't have mattered.

"I would've said and done the same thing no matter what age I was," Tim said.

Gibbs glared at his agent, silently telling him to shut up. Now was not the time for McGee to get assertive. He was being accused of murder for God's sake.

"I need to ask you where you were last night," Jenny said.

"At home," Tim said.

"And I'm guessing you were alone."

Tim nodded.

"So you have no real Alibi and you have a motive," Jenny summed up.

"It doesn't make him guilty, Director," Gibbs said.

Jenny ignored him and kept her eyes on the young agent in front of her, who so far hadn't really offered anything to the conversation. She wasn't expecting this from McGee. Tony maybe, but not McGee. At the very least, she expected him to deny involvement. So far he hadn't even done that. "Do you have anything to say about this, Agent McGee?"

"You want me to say something. Fine, but I guarantee that you won't like it. You want me to sit here and tell you that I'm sorry that he's dead. That I didn't kill him because it would've been wrong. Don't hold your breath, Director. The son of a bitch deserved to die. As far as I'm concerned, justice was served, albeit fifteen years late, but better late than never," Tim said. He knew he was shocking both occupants of the room. He'd never spoken to either of them like this before. With the director, he was constantly on edge and always regarded her carefully, Gibbs too to a certain extent. But right now they were discussing his mother's killer. He was no longer concerned with how they saw him.

"McGee!" Gibbs berated through gritted teeth. This was not smart on the young agent's part. He'd just said that he was glad the man he was accused of killing was dead. Granted, the kid had every right to feel that way, but he didn't need to broadcast it right now.

Tim actually glared at Gibbs. "He killed my mother! What do you expect? He was a piece of crap and now he's where he belongs."

"And did you help him get there, Agent McGee? Did you kill Colin Bradley?" Jenny asked.

"No. A fact I'm eternally sorry for. I'm guessing you're not going to take my word for it though," Tim said.

"Unfortunately, I can't. A man is dead and you have a very strong motive, not to mention means and opportunity. This case has to be handled by the book. That means you're a suspect," Jenny said.

"But not the only one. I'm sure others wanted him dead too," Gibbs said.

"I am by no means convicting him, Agent Gibbs. However, I can't ignore the fact that he has stated loudly, both in court and in this office, that he wanted Bradley dead. Agent McGee, I am putting you on Leave. It will be paid of course, but you need to go home," Jenny said firmly.

"I expected that too, Director," Tim said before standing up. "Can I assume we're done here?"

"For now," Jenny said.

"Consult that lawyer, McGee," Gibbs said. His gut told him this was far from over. He wanted McGee properly represented.

Tim nodded once and walked out of the room.


	3. Chapter 3

Tony and Ziva sat in silence, both wondering why their teammate was taken up to the director's office for no apparent reason. Finally, Ziva broke the silence. "What do you think is going on? They have been up there for a while

"It's probably nothing," Tony said. The tone in his voice betrayed him though. Something was going on, that much was clear, and it was more than just McGee not doing the work Gibbs had told him to. That wasn't big enough for the director to get involved.

"It is not nothing. You do not get sent to the director's office for nothing," Ziva said.

Just then, Tim came down the stairs, followed by Gibbs and the director. He went over to his desk and started getting his things together.

"McGee, are you going somewhere?" Ziva asked.

"Home," Tim said simply as he continued what he was doing.

Tony looked at him in shock. "You've been suspended?" It was the only conclusion that he could come up with. Why else would he be leaving after a meeting with the director? The only other option was him being fired and that just wasn't possible.

"No, he's on a temporary leave of absence," Jenny said.

"Why? What has he done?" Ziva asked.

"The director thinks I've committed murder. To be fair, she's not completely…"

"Not another word, McGee!" Gibbs growled. This case seemed to have completely stripped McGee of his shy, uncertain demeanor. Normally, he'd consider that a good thing, but in this case, it could end up putting him in prison for the rest of his life.

"Murder?! Who would you be accused of murdering?" Ziva asked in disbelief.

"The bastard currently in Autopsy," Tim said. He felt no need to hide what was going on. The entire building would know soon enough anyway and the day's events just wouldn't let him censor himself.

"Colin Bradley? You did not kill him. You would not kill anyone," Ziva said.

"Yeah, this is ridiculous. Probie's not a killer," Tony said.

"While I appreciate both your opinions, there are facts you aren't aware of yet and those facts can't be ignored. Rest assured that if Agent McGee is innocent, that will come to light," Jenny told them.

"With all due respect, Director, there are no facts that could make McGee a murderer. He doesn't have it in him," Tony said through gritted teeth. He wasn't going to stand for McGee being called a murderer. Yes, he spent the majority of the time making fun of McGee, but the man was his teammate and he wasn't going to watch him get screwed over like this. He was not a murderer.

"You'd be surprised, Tony," Tim said. Again, no censor.

"McGee! What part of keep your mouth shut was hard to understand!" Gibbs asked through gritted teeth.

Tim shut his computer down before taking out his gun and placing it on his desk. "I'm sure you're gonna want that, Director. You'll wanna make sure that it wasn't used in Bradley's murder."

Jenny looked at him for a minute before stepping forward and taking the weapon. "For what it's worth, Agent McGee, I'm not enjoying this."

"Then don't do it. He didn't kill anybody," Tony said while glaring at the director.

"Thanks, Tony, but she has every right to suspect me. I hated the SOB and I wanted him de…"

Gibbs cut him off by slapping him upside the head.

Tim looked at his glaring boss for a minute and then grabbed his bag and headed for the elevator.

Tony and Ziva immediately got up and followed him. Gibbs was behind all of them. "McGee, call a lawyer. Whatever this is about, it's clear that you need an attorney. Don't just expect this to go away. Take it from someone who's been framed," Tony said.

"Already got the memo, Tony," Tim said as politely as he could. Bradley and the memory of what he'd done to his family had him on edge.

"We will fix this, McGee. We will prove that you did not do this," Ziva said.

Tim nodded, got on the elevator and pushed one of the buttons.

Gibbs pushed the elevator door just as it was about to close. "You two go back to your desks and get to work."

Both agents nodded, gave their teammate one last look, and walked away.

Gibbs stepped inside the elevator and watched as the doors closed. He then hit the emergency switch and turned to glare at his agent. "You need to get a damn grip! Do you get how much trouble you're in right now?"

"It's not like there's anything I can do about it, Boss," Tim said.

"There's plenty you can do! For instance, you can not tell the director that you wanted the man you're accused of killing dead!" Gibbs yelled.

"I did want him dead," Tim said.

"Beside the point! You have been accused of murder and all you're doing is making yourself more of a suspect!" Gibbs growled.

"What do you want from me, Gibbs? The son of a bitch killed my mother! No, he did worse than kill her. He brutally raped her and then killed her. He deserved to die!" Tim yelled.

"Yeah, he did, but you could've reframed from saying it," Gibbs said.

"No, I couldn't. You don't get it. I hated him! I still hate him. I have spent the last fifteen years thinking of ways to kill him and get away with it," Tim said.

"Something else you shouldn't be saying," Gibbs interrupted.

Tim ignored him. "I can't pretend not to hate him, Gibbs, not even to save my own skin. I don't have it in him to say that I didn't hate him enough to kill him. I don't have it in me to pretend like I believe his death was unjust. I just don't. I don't have a censor when it comes to him."

"Well, you better find one or you might find yourself in a jail cell. You need to start thinking about how to get out of this," Gibbs said.

"Is that your way of saying you think I did it?" Tim asked.

"Didn't say that," Gibbs said. He honestly didn't know if McGee killed Bradley or not, nor did he care. If McGee had killed Bradley, as far as he was concerned, it was justified. Even if he set out to find him and kill him, it was justified. A man like Bradley didn't deserve to live. "What happened to Bradley, no matter who did it, was nothing more or less than he deserved. But it won't be seen that way by everyone else, which is why you have to keep your mouth shut! Call a damn lawyer and stop advertising what you thought about the piece of garbage."

Tim sighed. "I'll do my best."

Gibbs looked at him for a minute before flipping the switch again. The elevator soon started to move.


	4. Chapter 4

Tony and Ziva were waiting as soon as Gibbs stepped off the elevator. "Boss, what's going on? How can anyone think McGee would kill someone?"

"Yes, it is impossible. We all saw how he was last year when that cop died after he was forced to fire. He was guilt ribboned," Ziva said.

"Guilt ridden," Tony corrected.

"Whatever. He is not capable of doing something like this to anyone," Ziva said.

"With me," Was all Gibbs would say before leading the remainder of his team down the hall to the conference room. He motioned for them both to inside and then went in himself. He then shut the door. "This isn't like with the cop. McGee hated Bradley. He had very good reasons to hate him and to want him dead."

"Yeah, I heard him say he hated him, but why? I can't see McGee hating anyone," Tony said. Even with hearing McGee say it himself, he found it hard to believe. McGee was the nicest person in the world, so much that it annoyed Tony at times. He just couldn't see him hating someone like this.

"Trust me, he hates him. He has every right. Fifteen years ago, Bradley raped and killed McGee's mother," Gibbs said. Normally he wouldn't disclose as agent's personal business like this, but it was gonna come out anyway. There was no possible way of hiding it.

Tony and Ziva both stared at Gibbs with a mixture of shock and horror on their faces. Neither of them had any inkling that their teammate had been through something so horrible. They'd always assumed he'd had a good, uneventful childhood, but that obviously wasn't true.

"My God," Tony said quietly. He knew what it was like to lose a mother. His mother died when he was eight and he'd been devastated. And she had died of natural causes. He couldn't even imagine how much worse it would've been if she had been violated and murdered the way McGee's had. No wonder he hated Bradley so much.

"Bradley murdered McGee's mother?" Ziva asked in disbelief. It was so unbelievable to hear that. He never showed any effects of having gone through something so traumatizing. She would've thought he would at least have been somewhat jaded and bitter from the experience, but he wasn't. He'd never shown any sign that this had happened, until today.

Gibbs nodded. "So like I said, this isn't the same as the cop incident. He hated this man. He wanted him dead."

"I'd want him dead too," Tony said. If it had been his mother, he'd want the bastard who killed her dead. He'd probably even kill him. "Why was he free enough to be killed anyway? He should've been executed or in prison for the rest of his life."

"You know the system doesn't always work, DiNozzo. He got off because the police screwed up and the evidence was thrown out," Gibbs said.

"That had to smoke McGee up," Ziva said.

"Burn him up," Tony corrected.

"It did. McGee was apparently pissed when his mother's killer was exonerated. He attacked him and threatened to kill him, which is why he's a suspect now. It doesn't help that he admitted to the director that he wanted him dead and all but said he would've killed him if he had the chance," Gibbs said. He was still quite irritated at the young agent for that. He got McGee's hatred for Bradley. He got that he wanted him dead and would even support him if he did in fact kill him. But admitting to wanting him dead was stupid.

"I imagine it is hard for him to pretend otherwise," Ziva said.

"Yeah, well, he better figure out a way or he could lose everything," Gibbs said.

"Do you… Do you think he might have done it, Boss?" Tony asked. He hadn't believed it before. McGee being a murderer just didn't seem possible. But now he knew that McGee had a very good reason to want this guy dead. Anyone would be tempted to do it, even someone like McGee.

Gibbs was saved from answering by his cellphone ringing. He immediately pulled it out and answered it. "Yeah, Gibbs. Be right there," he said before hanging up. "Abby's got something."

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Gibbs got to the lab with the others a few minutes later. "What do you got, Abs?"

"Hey, guys. I finished the ballistics on the bullet and round," Abby said. She then looked directly at Gibbs with a bit of worry in her eyes. "The director was down not too long ago with a weapon for me to test. It was a SIG. It was the same model agents carry here."

"I know, Abs," Gibbs said simply.

"Is someone here a suspect?" Abby asked.

"Just give us your findings," Gibbs said. He wasn't ready to tell her about McGee. He knew she would not respond well to it.

"Well, the gun the director gave me didn't kill our victim. I didn't even have to test it. The bullet and round didn't come from a SIG. They came from a Glock 19," Abby said.

Gibbs was happy to know that McGee's service weapon hadn't been used in the murder, but this far from exonerated him. Any good investigator would say that he simply used another gun. "Did you find anything else?"

"Not yet. I'm still working on the finger prints from the scene. So far nothing has come up," Abby said.

"Let me know when you have something," Gibbs said before walking away with the others close behind.

"Boss, what are we gonna do if those prints end up being McGee's?" Tony asked quietly.

"Just pray that they don't DiNozzo," Gibbs said. As they entered the elevator. If those prints did turn out to be McGee's, he was screwed. That would place him at the scene and it would be enough for an arrest."

"If they're his prints, then…"

"There's no reason to think they are, DiNozzo. If they turn out to be his, we'll worry about it then. Until then, we keep working and hope that the case moves away from him," Gibbs said before pushing the button on the elevator to go back to the bullpen.


	5. Chapter 5

Tim didn't go straight home after leaving NCIS. He called his sister and asked her to meet him at a café not far from NCIS. She needed to know about Bradley and what his death meant for their family.

Tim was sitting at a table right outside the café when Sarah showed up. "Alright, what's so important? I had to leave class early."

"Sit down," Tim told his sister.

Sarah did as her brother asked. His tone of voice told her something was wrong. "What's going on?"

"My coworkers are probably going to come talk to you soon," Tim said.

"What for? As far as I know, no one else near me has died recently and I certainly haven't been covered in blood since the last time," Sarah said, thinking about the last time she'd gained NCIS's attention.

"It's about me, not you. I'm just gonna say it. Last night, Mom's killer was murdered," Tim told her.

Sarah looked shocked at first, but she quickly recovered. "So when's the party?"

Tim snorted. "Right after I'm cleared."

"They think you did it?" Sarah asked.

"I wanted him dead and I don't have a credible alibi. I've been placed on a glorified suspension until the investigation is complete," Tim said.

"Glorified suspension?" Sarah asked.

"Technically it's called Administrative Leave, but to me it's just a glorified suspension. Anyway, they're going to wanna talk to you about me soon," Tim said.

"About you? They're probably going to wanna talk about me too. I have just as much of a motive as you do," Sarah said.

Tim shook his head. "No, you very young when it happened," Tim said. Sarah had been barely seven when their mother was murdered. She couldn't remember much about the whole thing.

"I was not that young. I remember what it was like to have my mother there one day and gone the next. I certainly remember the press hounding us nonstop for months about the trial and then later about the acquittal. He killed my mother. I have as much reason to kill him as you do. So does Dad. Does Dad know about this?" Sarah asked.

"Not that I'm aware of. I tried to call and talk to him. Called the ship he's on and got told that he was too busy to talk to me, even after I said it was an emergency. Story of my life," Tim said. He was almost always an afterthought to his father. Well, when the man wasn't putting him down and trying to pressure him into joining the Navy. About the only other time he showed him any attention was right after his mother died. He'd been very angry then, some might even say unhinged. He'd completely lost it when Bradley got away with what he did. He actually went out searching for the man with the intent to kill. His father actually had to have him watched twenty-four/seven to keep him from accomplishing his goal.

"Well, they're going to wanna talk to him too, probably. He's got a motive too," Sarah said. She completely ignored her brother's other comments about their father. She'd learned a while ago to stop trying to fix their relationship.

"He's overseas right now, so he won't be much of a suspect," Tim said. Well, that actually wasn't necessarily true. They could say his father hired someone to do it. "Anyway, they're more interested in me right now. I'm the one who threatened him in open court."

"You were a kid," Sarah said.

"Like that matters. I would've done the same thing if it had happened a week ago. And I may have said something very similar to my director," Tim said. After having time to process it all, he realized how stupid it really was. He'd made himself more of a suspect by telling Director Shepard that he wanted Bradley dead and would've killed him if he had the chance. Gibbs was right. He needed to reel it in.

Sarah looked at her brother like he'd lost his mind. "Are you stupid? Why would you say something like that to your freaking director?!"

"I get it, Sarah. I know I screwed up, and if I didn't already know that, Gibbs made it perfectly clear," Tim said.

"Have you called a lawyer?" Sarah asked.

Tim shook his head. "Not yet. I was planning to do that when I get home. Gibbs said I should."

"He's right. You're a murder suspect. You've even been placed on Leave because of it. This is serious. You need to call a lawyer, and for God's sake, you need to keep your mouth shut about your feelings for Bradley," Sarah lectured.

"You're telling me to keep my mouth shut?" Tim asked with a smirk. Sarah was really the last person to tell someone to stay mum. She couldn't keep her mouth shut to save her life.

"Well, in this one case, I'm apparently better than you in that aspect. Look, I know you didn't do this, but I also know that sometimes that doesn't matter, or have you already forgotten my last issue with the law?" Sarah asked.

"I don't think either of us will be forgetting that anytime soon. Look, I get. I'm calling a lawyer as soon as I get home. Uh, I'd like you to come with me. You're right when you say you could be a suspect. I want you represented too," Tim said.

"Yeah, okay," Sarah said before standing up. The two of them then started walking to Tim's car.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

"Did Abby find anything?" Jenny asked Gibbs in her office.

"McGee's service weapon wasn't used. The murder weapon was a Glock," Gibbs said.

Jenny nodded. "Well, that's good, but you know it's not a sure thing. He could've used another weapon.

"Yeah, I get it, Jen. He's still a suspect," Gibbs said irritably.

"Jethro, I get that this is upsetting to you, but it's not as if I want him to be guilty. Someone has to be objective in this and it's obvious that it won't be anyone on your team. That's left to me," Jenny said.

"Fine. He's a suspect, but he's not the only one. We need to start looking at others," Gibbs said.

"Yeah, speaking of that, I've placed in a call to get Admiral McGee to conference in MTAC. He's overseas at the moment, but he could've paid someone to do it," Jenny said. As if on cue, her phone rang. She immediately picked it up. "Director Shepard. Alright thank you. I'll be right there."

Gibbs raised an eyebrow as if to ask what that was about.

Jenny hung up the phone. "My call has been answered. Admiral John McGee is online in MTAC."

Gibbs immediately headed for the door without a word.


	6. Chapter 6

Gibbs and Jenny walked into MTAC. A man with graying blonde hair was on the screen looked very unhappy to be here. "Admiral McGee, I'm Director Shepard and this is Special Agent Gibbs."

Admiral John McGee glared at them both. "If you people have called me here on the whims of my son after he tried and failed to get my attention, there will be hell to pay for all three of you!"

"I don't respond well to threats, Admiral McGee," Jenny said coldly.

"And maybe you should've answered when your son deemed something important enough to call you about," Gibbs said with a glare. One sentence out of this man and he was already pissing him off. He was speaking about his own son like he was meaningless.

"Like I have the time to listen to all the dramatic nonsense he may see as important. I am a busy man with real emergencies to deal with," John said.

Gibbs wanted to reach through the screen and throttle this man for his careless attitude. McGee was fighting for his freedom right now and Gibbs honestly wasn't sure if the son of a bitch in front of him would even give a damn. He didn't seem to care much about his son. It was pretty clear to Gibbs now that his agent did not have the life he thought he did. He thought McGee had a good childhood, the kind you'd see on TV. That had just been shot to hell. His mother was murdered when he was a teenager and his father seemed to be a pathetic excuse for one.

"Colin Bradley. Is he important enough for you," Jenny asked.

John's eyes darkened at the name. "What about the piece of slime?"

"He's dead. That's the nonsense your son wanted to tell you," Gibbs growled.

John was quiet for a moment before answering. "Thank you for telling me. I'll make sure my assistant sends up a good bottle of wine later so I can celebrate."

Jenny judged the Admiral's reaction. He didn't look outwardly surprised, but he didn't look unsurprised either. His face was pretty impassive at the news. She wasn't shocked by this though. This was a career military man. He would've learned a long time ago to be able to keep his face blank when he wanted to. "Bradley was murdered last night in his home. He was shot in his home."

"I'm unsure what it is you want from me, Director," John said.

Jenny doubted that. He knew where this conversation was leading. He was simply going to let her lead it because he didn't think he had anything to worry about. "You're a prominent suspect, Admiral. We know what Bradley did to your wife. I think it's safe to assume that you wished him dead."

"You know, I would've thought that NCIS would be smarter than this, even though you people are just a bunch of glorified civil servants. I have been out overseas for the last six months," John said.

"Don't take me for a fool, Admiral. I am well aware of your whereabouts. I am also aware that you could've very easily hired someone else to do it," Jenny said coolly. It was amazing how much different this man was from his son. Where Tim was kind, amicable, and patient, his father seemed to be cold, aggressive, and disrespectful.

"Trust me, Director, if I was going to kill him, I would do it myself, and it wouldn't be with a damn gun," he said.

"Yes, well, I'm afraid I can't take your word for that. We will be checking," Jenny said.

"Do what you need to. Are we done?" John asked as though they were wasting his time.

"Not by a long shot, Admiral. You're not the only suspect here. According to court transcripts, your son threatened Colin Bradley. You had to hold him back to keep him from fulfilling that threat," Jenny said.

"I was there, Director. I don't need a recap. My son was fifteen and he was angry, probably angrier than he's been in his life, before or after," John said.

"Do you think he would carry out a threat like that?" Jenny asked.

"You want me to sell out my own son?" John asked.

"So you care what happens to him now? Didn't seem to care enough to answer when he reached out to you," Gibbs said. He certainly didn't want the Admiral to incriminate his son, but the man pissed him off royally with his little regard for the younger man.

John glared at Gibbs. "Who are you to tell me how I feel about my son, Agent Gibbs?"

"Gentlemen, let's stay on topic," Jenny said. She wanted this over as soon as possible. Gibbs wasn't the only one who was getting irritated by the Admiral's attitude. "Admiral, right now, we are trying to eliminate your son as a suspect. Help us do that by answering the question. Do you think he would've carried out his threat to kill Colin Bradley?

"Director Shepard, I'm sure you've figured out by now that my son and I don't have the best relationship. I personally think he's wasting his life with you people. He should've joined the Navy like he was supposed to. Now he's nothing more than a civil servant and a pencil pusher. He could've done much better for himself and I will tell him that every chance I get. But he's still my son and I'm going to help you destroy him, especially not over that SOB," John said.

"That's not our intention, Admiral McGee?" Jenny said.

"Your intentions are meaningless to me. I'm not giving you any information, Director. If Tim killed that bastard, he did the world a favor. It will be the first admirable thing he's ever done. Now, this conversation is over," John said firmly.

"For now," Jenny said before signaling for the connection to be terminated. She knew she wasn't going to get from the man. A part of her was happy about that. She got the feeling that anything the Admiral could say would just implicate his son more.

Gibbs spoke after the connection was dropped. "He's a piece of garbage, but at least he's finally doing something right by his son."

"I'll admit, he was not very endearing," Jenny said.

"Hmmm," was all Gibbs sai


	7. Chapter 7

Tony and Ziva were sitting in the conference room with Bradley's girlfriend, Carol Michaels. "Thanks for coming Ms. Michaels," Tony said.

"Of course. I want to do anything I can to help find Colin's killer. I'm not sure what I can say that I didn't tell Agent David earlier though," Carol said.

"How long were you dating Colin Bradley for, Ma'am?" Tony asked.

"It was almost six months. Things were getting pretty serious with us. We were considering moving in together," Carol said.

"Really? Ms. Michael's, are you aware of your boyfriend's past?" Tony asked.

"If you mean his brush with the legal system then, yes, I'm aware," Carol said.

"Brush? He was tried for the rape and murder of a wife and mother. I think I would call that more than a brush," Ziva said.

"Colin didn't do that. He was exonerated," Carol said.

"Ma'am, the world is filled with people who have gotten away with their crimes," Tony said.

She shook her head. "Colin was innocent. He didn't kill that woman. A jury said so. Not that the world didn't stop condemning him for it."

"How do you mean?" Tony asked.

"Well, every time he went to get a job, the employer would find out that he was tried for murder. He couldn't get a good job because of it. His friends and family won't have anything to do with him anymore. His family practically disowned him," Carol explained.

Tony found himself taking pleasure in the fact that Bradley hadn't been able to just move on after killing McGee's mom. It certainly hadn't been justice and it didn't even begin to compare to the agony that McGee and his family went through every day, but at least it was something. And now he was dead. That was justice.

"To top it all off, he was being threatened," Carol said.

"Threatened? You did not mention that earlier," Ziva said.

"I guess I was in shock. I'd just found the man I loved dead. And honestly, I didn't really take the threats seriously, neither did Colin. It wasn't the first time he'd been threatened. He told me that after the trial, he would be threatened all the time. He had to change his number because wackos who followed the trial would call him at all hours of the night and harass him," Carol said with a disgusted look on her face.

"Yeah, people aren't fans of rapists and murderers," Tony said.

Carol glared at him. "Stop calling him that! He was innocent!"

Tony resisted the urge to roll his eyes. The woman was either really naïve or really stupid, maybe even both. She seemed to see Bradley with some kind of halo instead of with the devil horns he actually wore. "Did he know who was threatening him?"

"No. He just assumed it was another crazy that had somehow found him. Like I said, he wasn't worried. I wanted him to go to the police to make the harassment stop, but he refused. He said the cops would never help him. It looks like he was right," Carol said as she glared at them both.

"We will do anything in our power to find your boyfriend's murderer, Ms. Michaels," Ziva said.

"Speaking of which, we need to account for your whereabouts last night," Tony said.

"You think I killed Colin. I loved him!" Carol said defensively.

"We have to ask, especially since you found the body," Ziva said.

Carol huffed but answered anyway. "I left Colin's at around six last night. From there, I went to home. My sister showed at around seven and stayed until just after midnight. Feel free to ask her about it."

"We will. Do you of anyone at all specific that might have had a grudge against your boyfriend?" Ziva asked.

Carol seemed to think about it for a minute. "There is something. I went to see Colin last week and saw him arguing with some guy. When I walked in, they both stopped talking. Colin later told me the guy was an old Marine buddy that abandoned him after he was arrested."

"Did he give you a name?" Tony asked.

"Griffin. Robert Griffin."

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Tony and Ziva approached the Lieutenant Robert Griffin's officer at Quantico. Tony knocked on the door.

"Come in!"

Tony opened the door and he and Ziva walked inside. "Lieutenant Griffin?"

"Yes. Can I help you?" Griffin asked.

Tony flashed his badge. "Special Agent DiNozzo, this is Special Agent David. NCIS. We need to ask you a few questions."

"Of course. Have a seat," Griffin said as he motioned towards the chairs in front of his desk.

Tony closed the door and he and Ziva immediately went and sat down.

"What do you need?" Griffin asked.

"One of your Marine buddies was murdered last night. Colin Bradley," Tony said.

Griffin didn't seem surprised. "He wasn't a Marine anymore and he certainly wasn't my buddy. I don't buddy up with rapists and murderers."

"You do not seem so shocked that he's dead," Ziva noted.

"Frankly, I'm surprised he lived this long. There was no shortage of people who wanted him dead, not the least of which were an Admiral and his son," Griffin said.

"I take it you're referring to the threats Tim McGee made after the trial," Tony said.

Griffin nodded curtly. "That kid was angry. I'd never seen so much hatred in a kid before, not that I blamed him. If someone hurt my mother like that, I'd hate him too. I felt for him."

"So you believe Bradley was guilty?" Tony asked.

"They had his DNA. The fact that the jury never saw it doesn't matter. Not to mention that he had a history with women. I never heard about rape before, but he certainly took advantage of women and I caught him being borderline violent with a girl in a bar once. So, no, I had no trouble believing it," he said.

"We have a witness saying you fought with Bradley last week. Can you explain that?" Ziva asked.

"Oh, yeah, I can explain it. I came home one day to find my wife terrified. The son of a bitch apparently figured out I was in DC and tracked me down. He came to my house when I wasn't home. He was alone with my nine-year-old daughter and then freaked my wife out. He didn't hurt her or anything, but she was definitely afraid. I found out where he was and I confronted him. I told him if he ever went near my family again, I'd kill him," Griffin explained.

"You threatened him," Tony said.

"Yeah. You can add me to the countless others had a reason to kill him. But I didn't. Since I know you'll ask, I was here until eight last night and then I went home to my wife and daughter," Griffin said.

"This confrontation at his house, was that your last meeting with Bradley?" Tony asked.

He nodded.

"What did he want from you anyway?" Tony asked.

"I never found out. His girl showed up right after I threatened him. I left right afterwards. My guess is though that he just wanted to screw with me, get under my skin. He was good at that. Look, guys, I realize that it's your job to find his killer, but he was a waste of human life. His death wasn't a crime. It was a late act of justice, no matter who killed him," Griffin said.

"Thanks for your time, Lieutenant," Tony said before he and Ziva stood up and headed for the door.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Gibbs walked off the elevator and went into Abby's lab. The first thing he noticed was that there was no music playing. That was never a good sign with her. He went further inside and saw her leaning over one of the machines. "Abby."

Abby was quiet for a few minutes before speaking. When she did, she didn't even turn to look at her boss. "You've been holding out, Gibbs."

Gibbs didn't speak. He didn't feel the need to. Abby apparently knew about McGee. He couldn't exactly deny that it was true.

Abby turned towards Gibbs. "I checked the serial number on the gun the director gave me and who it was issued to. It's McGee's gun. She thought that McGee's gun might have been used to kill Bradley. She thinks he killed him."

"Why'd you look up the serial number, Abs? You had to have a reason. The fingerprints."

"I isolated three different prints. The first belonged to Colin Bradley, the second to his girlfriend, Carol Michaels, and the third… The third was McGee's. Gibbs, McGee was in that house."


	8. Chapter 8

Gibbs was on his way up to the director's office with Tony and Ziva trailing him the entire way. He needed to fill Jenny in on what he'd learned from Abby. He didn't want to, but he wouldn't be able to keep it from her long. It would look better for both him and McGee if he just came out with it.

"Boss, don't do this. The director doesn't have to know," Tony said.

"And how do you expect us to keep it from her, DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked as he continued to walk.

"The only people who know are us and Abby. All it would take is a little work from Abby to make those prints go away," Tony said. Yes, he knew what he was proposing was illegal and could get all of them fired and put in prison, but this was his teammate they were talking about. They couldn't let him go down.

Gibbs stopped and turned to his agents. "What?"

Tony sighed. "Look, Bradley deserved to die. Whether McGee killed him or somebody else did, he deserved it! No one but his stupid girlfriend misses him. McGee doesn't deserve to have his life ruined anymore because of this man. We just talk to Abby. We tell her what's going on and we get her to destroy the prints and her findings."

"You want her to risk her career and her freedom to destroy evidence? You think that's what McGee wants? You think that's the kind of man he is?" Gibbs asked. He understood where Tony was coming from. He was trying to protect a teammate and friend. But this wasn't something McGee would want. He wouldn't want them to destroy themselves to save him.

"Gibbs is right, Tony. McGee would not want us to risk our careers to save him. We just have to prove that he did not do it. We keep investigating and we prove his innocence," Ziva said.

"And what if he's not?" Tony asked.

"You think he is guilty?" Ziva asked.

"I don't know. I'd love to say he's not. When we first found out he was a suspect, I told myself he couldn't have done it. He's just not that kind of person. But Bradley killed his mother. If that had happened to me, I would kill the person responsible," Tony said firmly.

Ziva sighed and looked away. She could not argue with that. She would do the same. She would torture and kill anyone who harmed her family. Was McGee the same though? She did not want to think he was. He was always so kind and forgiving towards others. But this was his mother. Anything was possible.

"Alright, enough! This conversation is over. We keep investigating and try to lead the case away from McGee. But we don't hide evidence. That won't help him," Gibbs said before continuing to the director's office.

"I'll be back," Tony said after Gibbs left before heading back towards the stairs.

"Where are you going?" Ziva asked. She had a feeling she knew though.

Tony didn't answer. He just kept walking.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Gibbs was standing in front of Jenny's desk. He'd just filled her in on what they'd learned.

"You need to bring him in," Jenny said.

"It's hardly a slam dunk, Jen. Being in that house doesn't make him guilty," Gibbs said.

"His finger prints are in the house of the man who murdered his mother and that man is now dead. He doesn't have an alibi and he openly threatened this man," Jenny pointed out.

"You're forgetting one thing, Jen. We were all at that house this morning," Gibbs said.

Jenny raised an eyebrow. "You're saying that you believe he left those prints today. That would mean he broke protocol and didn't put a pair of gloves on. Did that happen?"

Gibbs thought back to them all arriving at the scene. He distinctly remembered McGee putting his gloves on before they even stepped through the door. "I can't be sure."

"You can't be sure if a member of your team followed protocol?" Jenny asked skeptically. She was almost positive she was lying to her. He would've noticed something like that.

"McGee's been with me for two and a half years. I no longer feel the need to watch him every second. Like I said, I don't know when he put his gloves on," Gibbs lied. While he wasn't willing to fabricate evidence, as he knew McGee wouldn't want that, that didn't mean he wasn't willing to tell a little white lie to keep his man from being arrested.

Jenny chuckled slightly. "Alright, Jethro, have it your way. You don't have to arrest him, but you do have to bring him in. He needs to be questioned, and I will be doing that myself."

Gibbs walked towards the door. He knew he couldn't argue. Jenny wasn't going to bend anymore. He'd gotten her to agree not to charge him. That was as good as he would get for now.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Tim was sitting in his dining room with Sarah and his attorney, Adam Barney. He'd looked up a bunch of lawyers and finally found one that was pretty good. This guy was supposed to be a shark. He won about three-quarters of all his cases. He was expensive, but Tim could afford it from his novel earnings.

"First thing's first, Agent McGee. Have you spoken to NCIS about this?" Barney asked.

"Yes. I spoke with my direct supervisor and my director," Tim said.

Barney sighed. "You shouldn't have done that. Anything you say without invoking can be used against you."

"I'm aware of that, Mr. Barney. I am a federal agent after all," Tim said.

"Well, apparently you think that makes you immune. Professional courteous seized to exist the moment you became a murder suspect. All NCIS will be worried about now is making sure the entire agency doesn't go down. They won't protect you. So from now on, you don't say a word to anyone without me," Barney said firmly.

"Alright, fine," Tim said.

Just then there was a knock at the door.

Tim stood up to answer, but Barney held up a hand to stop him. "I'll answer it, Agent McGee. If it's NCIS, I want them to see me first."

Tim nodded and sat back down. He watched as his lawyer answered the door and he saw Tony on the other side.

"Who are you?" Barney asked.

"A friend of McGee's," Tony said before attempting to gain entrance.

Barney stood firm and wouldn't let him in. "Are you a working friend? Because if you are, you talk to me, not him, and you don't get in without a warrant."

"Look, I left my badge at the office. I'm not here as an agent. Let me in," Tony said before trying to get in again only to be stopped again. "McGee?"

"It's okay," Tim said as he stood up and walked over to the door.

"I advise against this," Barney said.

"Duly noted," Tony said before pushing his way inside.

"What are you doing here, Tony?" Tim asked.

Tony sighed. "I'd ask to talk to you alone, but something tells me your lawyer would object to that."

"You'd be correct," Barney said.

Tony ignored him and focused on McGee. "Abby matched your prints to the ones at the crime scene."

Tim opened his mouth to speak, but he was immediately cut off by his attorney.

"Don't say a word, Agent McGee."

"He's right, don't. If the director asks, I wanna be able to honestly say you didn't tell me anything," Tony said. He would tell her that anyway, but he would like it to be the truth.

"Why are you here, sir?" Barney asked.

"I'm here to give my friend a heads up and to give him the chance to come in before our director orders his arrest," Tony said.

Tim looked to his lawyer as if to ask what he thought he should do. He wanted to play it Tony's way, but he was trying hard to listen to his lawyer. Letting Tony in was different since he knew the man was on his side.

"It's a good idea, but you don't speak until I get there," Barney said.

Tim nodded and turned to Sarah. "You stay here. Hopefully I'll be back soon."

Sarah opened her mouth to speak, but Tim cut her off.

"No, Sarah. I don't want you on their radar sooner than necessary," Tim said. He didn't wait for a response from his sister. He just grabbed his jacket and led the way out of his apartment.


	9. Chapter 9

Tony and Tim were standing in the elevator on their way to the bullpen. Tony suddenly hit the emergency switch and turned to his coworker and friend.

"Yes, Gibbs," Tim quipped.

"Tell Director Shepard that you forgot to put your gloves on this morning. You were already in the house and had touched a couple of things before you remembered to put them on," Tony said. Yes, it was a lie and he knew it, but it was one that needed to be told. It was better for McGee to be accused of breaking protocol than of being a murderer.

"Tony, you watched me put my gloves on. You, Gibbs, and Ziva were standing right there," Tim said.

"I don't remember that," Tony lied.

"Why?" Tim asked. He didn't understand why Tony would lie for him. Yes, they were coworkers, but they weren't that close. Yes, Tony had been there for him a bit last year when he killed that cop, but other than that, there relationship consisted of Tony teasing and pranking him.

Tony sighed. "Look, I know I yank your chain a lot. I make fun of you a lot, but I still have your back when you needed."

"This is more than having my back, Tony. You're talking about lying for me, risking your job," Tim said.

"You're my partner, my friend. I'm not going to let you go down for murder, not when the 'victim' is someone like that," Tony said.

"The way you said that, it sounds like you're not sure if I'm guilty or not," Tim said.

Tony didn't say anything. He honestly wasn't sure. If Bradley was anyone else, he'd say McGee couldn't possibly have done it, but this bastard had murdered his mother.

"It's alright, I'm not offended that you think I might be guilty. If I had known he was here, I probably would've killed him," Tim said honestly.

"I don't recommend saying that to the director," Tony said.

"A little late for that," Tim said before reaching over and starting the elevator again.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Ten minutes later, Tim was sitting in an interrogation room with his lawyer, Gibbs, and Director Shepard.

"Your prints were found at the scene of the crime, Agent McGee. Can you explain that?" Jenny asked.

"Don't answer that. Director, my client was at the scene this morning. It is obvious that that is how his prints got there," Mr. Barney said.

"Is that true, Agent McGee? Did you break protocol? Will your colleagues back that up?" Jenny asked.

"Probably, but they'd be lying," Tim said.

"Agent McGee…"

"I will not allow my coworkers to jeopardize their careers for me," Tim told his lawyer. He appreciated that Tony and probably the others were willing to lie for him, but he couldn't let them. They wouldn't have him doing it if the situation was reversed. "No, Director, I didn't break protocol. My gloves were on before I stepped one foot into that house."

"Then how did your prints get there?" Jenny asked.

"I don't know. I can only assume that someone put them there since I was never in that house until this morning," Tim said.

"You're suggesting that you were framed?" Jenny asked.

"I don't who would want to or how they did it, but I can't think of another reason for my prints to be there," Tim said.

"You realize how this looks, don't you? It looks like you killed this man. You threatened him in front of dozens of witnesses, you stated in my office that you would've killed him if you had the chance, and your prints were found in his house," Jenny said.

"That's circumstantial evidence, Director. It hardly proves my client is guilty," Barney said.

"There's something you're forgetting, Director. You're right, I wanted him dead. If I had known he was in DC and been to his house, I would've killed him," Tim said, casing boy Gibbs and his attorney to protest at the same time.

"McGee!"'

"Agent McGee!"

Tim ignored both men and kept talking. "But I wouldn't have been stupid enough to leave my prints at the scene. I'm an agent. I know what we look for when it comes to a murder. If I'd planned and carried out a murder, I wouldn't have left evidence behind that could lead you back to me."

"Be that as it may, Agent McGee, the evidence can't be ignored," Jenny said. Honestly, she was somewhat convinced by his words. It would be stupid of him to leave that kind of evidence behind, and McGee was anything but stupid. He was probably the smartest agent in the building.

"The evidence doesn't say he did it. If the DA brought something like this forward, I doubt he'd even be able to get passed a Grand Jury. You only have his prints at the scene. You have no evidence actually tying him to the murder. You can't prove he was there at the time of the murder, you don't have the murder weapon, and you don't have evidence tying him to the murder weapon. You have a set of fingerprints and the angry statements of a teenaged boy from fifteen years earlier," Barney said.

Jenny turned to Tim. "Your lawyer is right. While I could charge you, it wouldn't hold up for long. I could hold you here, but I won't. You're free to go for now. However, we have procured a warrant for your apartment."

"You didn't need one. If you wanted to search my place, you should've just asked," Tim said before standing up.

"McGee, wait up," Gibbs said.

"I don't think so, Agent Gibbs," Barney said.

"It's fine," Tim told his attorney.

Barney looked unhappy, but he conceded to his client's wishes and left the room. Jenny was right behind him.

"Nice choice in lawyers," Gibbs said. He was being sincere. Barney seemed like a true shark. "Maybe you should try listening to him."

"I listen to him when I think he's right. I wasn't going to let him put you guys in a position to lie for me. I know you would've done it, but I couldn't let you. You wouldn't let me do it for you," Tim said.

"You're right, I wouldn't," Gibbs said. No way would he let his people risk themselves for him. He knew McGee was the same. That was why he refused Tony's idea to destroy evidence.

"I didn't kill him, Gibbs. I know you all think I might have and under different circumstances…"

"Don't say another word!" Gibbs said with authority.

"I didn't do it. I didn't have the chance to. And if whoever did it wasn't trying to set me up for it, I'd thank them. See you later, Boss," Tim said as he started to leave.

"Why aren't you worried?" Gibbs asked. He would've thought his agent would be more concerned that he'd find himself in a cell soon enough. As Tony would probably say, he was the worrywart of the team.

Tim turned back to him. "Because, Boss, I believe you'll find out the truth. You won't let me go down for this," he said before walking away


	10. Chapter 10

Tony walked through the bullpen hours later and over to his desk. "McGee's place is clean, Boss. There's nothing there that ties him to the murder."

"Good. It's not over though," Gibbs said. McGee was still a suspect and would continue to be one until they found the real killer.

Ziva hung up her phone and looked at her teammates sadly. "No, it is not. Director Shepard asked me to look further into McGee's past, right after his mother was killed and Bradley got away with it. It appears that McGee did not just merely threaten Bradley. He set out to carry out that threat. He went after him. He even went to his place of residence with his father's gun."

Gibbs groaned. "Damn it, McGee."

"He was a child, Gibbs. He had just lost his mother and he was angry," Ziva defended.

"What happened? Obviously he didn't shoot Bradley," Gibbs said.

"No. He was caught by a patrol officer right outside of Bradley's place of residence. No charges were filed, probably due to his father making it go away, but the arrest is still on record," Ziva explained.

"This is bad," Tony said.

"Ya think, DiNozzo," Gibbs asked sarcastically.

"It still does not make him guilty. We should focus on other angles. We have not spoken to Lieutenant Griffin's wife yet about why Bradley may have accosted her and her daughter," Ziva said.

"Do that in the morning. Find out anything he might have said to her. In the meantime, go home. It's late," Gibbs said.

"Boss, McGee is still in trouble here," Tony said. He didn't wanna go home while his teammate was still looking at a possible murder charge.

"Nothing more we can do about that tonight, DiNozzo. Go home," Gibbs said before standing up and walking away without another word.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

The next day, Tony and Ziva approached the Griffin's place of residence. Tony knocked on the door.

The door was opened a second later by a woman wearing hospital scrubs. "Hi. This is a bad time. I'm late for work."

Tony held up his badge. "NCIS. This can't wait. Are you Sandra Griffin?"

"Yes. What's this about? Is my husband alright? He just left for work an hour ago?" she said panicked.

"Your husband's fine, Ma'am. May we come in?" Tony asked.

"Sure," she said before stepping aside to let them in. She led them into the living room and motioned for them to sit. "Have a seat."

Tony and Ziva both sat on the couch. "Mrs. Griffin…"

"Sandra, please," she said.

"We're here to ask you some questions about a man named Colin Bradley. Your husband says he accosted you and your daughter," Tony said.

Sandra chuckled. "I wouldn't say he accosted me. Robert overreacted to the whole thing. It was harmless."

"You and your daughter were alone with a killer. You do not think your husband was right to be worried?" Ziva asked.

"He was exonerated. And before you go there, I know that killers can be found not guilty, but I don't believe that's what happened this time. Colin never would've hurt Allison," Sandra said.

"Wait a second. You knew Allison McGee?" Tony asked surprised at the informality this woman was using with McGee's mother.

"Oh, yes. We were good friends. I was friends with Colin too and I know he would never hurt her. He loved her," Sandra said firmly.

"Wait, they knew each other. That's not on record. According the prosecution's case, they were strangers," Tony said. This seemed like something that should be mentioned by one or both sides. It could be spun by the prosecution to be an affair gone wrong, or it could be used the defense to prove that there was no rape and that it was consensual.

"Well, they didn't do their jobs right. I guess they thought that the DNA evidence was all they needed. Colin should've mentioned their connection when that was brought up, but he wouldn't. I think it was to preserve Allison's honor. He didn't want her thought of badly. Thankfully the DNA was thrown out. He'd be in prison or dead by now otherwise," Sandra said.

"Well, actually, Ma'am, I'm afraid he is dead. He was shot to death last night in his home," Tony said.

Sandra brought her hand to her mouth and gasped. "Oh my God. Who did it?"

"That's what we're trying to find out. A lot of people wanted him dead for what he did though," Tony said.

"What people think he did. He did not kill Allison. I will never believe that. You have to prove that. At the very least, he deserves to rest in peace knowing his name was finally cleared," Sandra said.

"Mrs. Griffin, it is our job to find out who killed Colin Griffin. That is what we are focusing on. We need you to tell us what happened when he came to see you," Ziva said.

"Nothing. He was here for about an hour. I introduced him to my daughter and we talked about old times. He got a bit despondent when I brought up Allison. He loved her very much and missed her terribly," Sandra said.

"Who else knew that Allison McGee and Colin Bradley were lovers?" Tony asked. He knew for sure that McGee didn't know and he did not want to be the one to tell him that his mother was having an affair with the man that killed her. Or now the man that may have killed her. There was reasonable doubt about that now.

"I was the only one. Allison told me. She wasn't proud of it, knowing she had a husband and two children at home. But she'd loved Colin for years and couldn't help herself," Sandra said.

"Your husband said he came home to find you terrified after your encounter with Bradley," Ziva said. She decided to get away from the affair for now. They needed to focus on finding Bradley's killer right now.

Sandra shook her head. "No. He jumped to conclusions. Our daughter told him about meeting a friend of mine. I barely got the name out before Robert started to explode. Don't take that to mean anything though. Robert would never kill anyone."

"So he didn't tell you anything else, about maybe someone who was threatening him?" Tony asked.

"No. He did mention a new girlfriend. I was happy for him. He'd finally found happiness after Allison. Oh, there is one more thing. When I mentioned Allison, he asked if I knew what became of her boy. I couldn't tell him anything though," she said.

"Thank you for your time, Ma'am," Tony said before he and Ziva got up and started making their way to the door.

"Why do you think Bradley wanted to know about McGee?" Ziva asked once they made it outside.

"I don't know, but it can't be good," Tony said as he led the way to the car. Actually, he did have a hunch as to why. He wanted to wrong though because no matter what, it would crush McGee.


	11. Chapter 11

Tony and Ziva were in Bradley's house searching it once more. Now, they were searching for anything that might lead to what Bradley might have wanted with Tim.

Tony was searching and end table between the couch and a recliner. He opened the drawer and started sifting through it. After a couple of minutes, he pulled out a picture. There was a single person in the photo. A teenaged boy who looked no older then fifteen. He had dirty blond hair and green eyes.

Tony didn't have much time to contemplate what he'd found because Ziva interrupted. "Tony, I think I may have found something."

Tony got up and followed Ziva's voice down the hall to one of the rooms. He walked in to see what looked to be a study. Ziva was sitting in the chair behind the desk with a file in her hands. He took it from her and saw that a name was written on the side. "Allison McGee. How'd he get his hands on this?"

"He was a marine. I am sure that he had some connections, despite what his girlfriend said about everyone turning against him," Ziva said.

Tony opened the file and began skimming its contents. The first thing he came to were pictures of a dead woman who looked to be in her mid-thirties. The pictures were pretty gruesome and had him sick to his stomach. Actually, the pictures themselves weren't anything he hadn't seen before. They alone weren't enough to make him sick. It was really who they were of. This was his McGee's mother. She was someone that had mattered to his colleague. "Good God."

"Yes, those pictures are not pretty. We should make sure that McGee never sees them," Ziva said.

"I've never agreed with anything more before," Tony said.

Ziva noticed the picture Tony was holding behind the file. She immediately took it from him and looked at it. "This is McGee. Why did he have a picture of McGee as a teenager?"

"I don't know," Tony lied. Again, he had suspicions, but he wanted to be wrong for the sake of his friend. "There's not much here. The police apparently didn't find much. Aside from the DNA evidence, all they really found to implicate Bradley was evidence that his car was near the scene at the time, giving him opportunity and a marine knife that may or may not have been the murder weapon."

"What do you mean 'may or may not have been'?" Ziva asked.

"It was a standard marine knife. It was the type of weapon used, but they were far from rare. They couldn't determine if this specific knife was the one used to kill her. They probably played it off like that, but any good defense attorney could argue that it was just similar. Without the DNA evidence, there was barely enough to continue trial. The prosecution never had a prayer of winning," Tony said.

"Why bother going to trial then?" Ziva asked.

"An Admiral's wife was involved. Admiral McGee probably would've thrown a fit if the person who murdered his wife wasn't tried. Come on, we should head back and tell Gibbs what we found."

Ziva nodded and let the way out of the room.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Twenty minutes later, Tony and Ziva were back in the bullpen of NCIS with Gibbs. They quickly filled him in n everything they'd learned.

"I think we must consider the possibility that Bradley was innocent," Ziva said.

"No, there's no reason to go there. You said it yourself, that's not our job," Tony said. He really didn't wanna go down that road. He didn't wanna think about what it would do to McGee if he ended up being responsible for the man's death.

"It may be though. Our job is to find Bradley's killer. His murder may be tied to the original murder," Ziva said.

"Or it might have nothing to do with it," Tony said before getting up and going to her desk. He then whispered so no one else would hear him. "Do you know what it will do to McGee if he did this and then finds out Bradley was innocent?"

"Enough, both of you!" Gibbs growled. "McGee didn't do this and neither of you will say he did again." He knew McGee was innocent. Yes, he did wonder at first, but McGee told him he didn't do it and Gibbs knew it was the truth. McGee wouldn't lie to him.

Tony sighed. "Yes, Boss."

"DiNozzo, I want you to get your hands on everything you can on the original murder. we don't assume anything about this guy, guilty or innocent." Gibbs said.

"Boss..."

"Do it, DiNozzo," Gibbs ordered before turning to Ziva. "You look into Bradley's past, before and after the McGee murder. I wanna know everything about him."

"Yes, Gibbs," she said.

Tony was back at his desk and was about to make a call when he saw Gibbs go over to McGee's desk and pull something out of it. He then started for the elevator.

Tony immediately got up to follow him. "Boss! Boss, don't do it. It'll kill him."

Gibbs didn't even pretend not to know what he was talking about. "No choice, DiNozzo."

"Yes, you do. Leave it alone. He doesn't need to know of even the possibility," Tony said. He knew Gibbs had come to the same conclusion he had. The difference was that it looked Gibbs planned to find out if it was true. "Don't open this up, Gibbs."

"It's already been opened, Tony. It was opened when someone murdered Bradley," Gibbs said.

"It will kill him," Tony said again.

"No, it won't. It'll hurt him a lot, but he'll survive it. He's stronger than we've given him credit for," Gibbs said before continuing on his way,


	12. Chapter 12

Gibbs had gone to Abby's lab after leaving the bullpen. He needed her to prove or disprove his and Tony's theory. After that, he went to Autopsy to speak with Ducky. He found him and Palmer cleaning up after Bradley's autopsy. "Hey, Duck."

Ducky looked over at him. "Jethro. You have all my findings, so I can only assume this visit is unrelated."

Gibbs looked over at Jimmy. "Find something to do elsewhere."

Jimmy quickly retreated into the office.

"Is everything alright with Timothy?" Ducky asked. He assumed that this had to do with the young agent, as most of this case did.

"Case has taken an unexpected turn," Gibbs said.

Ducky stiffened a bit. "Has Timothy been arrested?"

"No. In fact, proving his innocence is no longer the only concern. Let me ask you something, Duck. What would it do to McGee to find out that Bradley wasn't just some stranger who raped and killed his mother?" Gibbs asked.

"I'm not following," Ducky said.

"It turns out that McGee's mother may have been having an affair with Bradley when she was killed. If so, that means…"

"He may not have been guilty," Ducky finished for him.

"It's possible. Though it's also possible he killed her because she tried to end the affair. Not sure which one it is yet," Gibbs said.

Ducky sighed. "If you're asking how Timothy will respond to the affair, probably not well. He will probably deny it even happened. He won't want to think about his mother, who isn't able to defend herself, stepping out on her marriage. The fact that it's a man he has spent half his life hating will only make it worse."

"He may not be able to deny it. Abby's running a test right now," Gibbs said.

It took him a minute, but Ducky managed to figure out what his friend wasn't saying. "You believe the affair went on for some time."

"We're not sure how long it went on, but I can't ignore the possibility, even though Tony would prefer I did. He doesn't think McGee can handle it," Gibbs said. Honestly, he was worried about how McGee would take it too. He believed the younger man would survive it, but it would be painful as hell. Whether Bradley was guilty or not, McGee would wrestle with the information and what it meant for a very long time.

"Well, I can certainly appreciate Anthony's concern. He is right that Timothy will find the information incredibly painful, no matter what the outcome with his mother's case becomes. This type of information would be damaging to anyone, but the circumstances here are much worse. At best, he'll have to live with the fact that he hated this man for something he may not have done. If it turns out to be the worst, he'll have to live with this man's guilt along with this new connection. It will not be easy," Ducky said.

"You saying you agree with Tony?" Gibbs asked.

"No. He won't want to, but Timothy can survive this. He's survived worse. He was forced to deal with his mother's murder at a young age, as well as the fallout from her murder. He can handle this too," Ducky said.

"But he shouldn't have to. I know he can do this. I told Tony the same. It'll be hard, but he'll survive. That being said, if I thought I could keep a lid on this, I would. Yeah, McGee can handle it, but he shouldn't have to. Like you said, he's been through a lot already," Gibbs said.

Ducky nodded. "They say the truth hurts. They're right. Sometimes we prefer the lie because it's easier to live with. But in the end, it's still a lie and you can't hide behind it forever. You're doing the right thing. Anthony might disagree and Timothy probably will too, but he needs to accept it."

"I don't know. Maybe DiNozzo's right. Bradley's dead. What good could the information do now?" Gibbs asked.

"Maybe none, but that's not for us to decide. We can't decide whether or not someone else is entitled to the truth or not," Ducky said.

"Right. Thanks, Duck," Gibbs said before turning around and heading back towards the elevator.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Several hours later, Tony was in the bullpen on his phone. He ended the call and turned to Gibbs. "Boss, I managed to track down Bradley's attorney from fifteen years ago. He's still in California, but I got him to agree to conference with us through MTAC in the San Diego office tomorrow morning," Tony said.

"Good," was all Gibbs said.

"I'm also going through the court transcripts to see if there's anything in there that could be helpful," Tony said.

"Gibbs, I have Bradley's criminal record. I am putting it on the plasma," Ziva said before doing just that.

They all got up and went over to the TV, which now held a photo of Colin Bradley, as well as his file.

"The most Bradley was charged with was Grand theft and the charges were dropped. He and a couple of his friends took one of their father's cars and he pressed charges for a day or two to scare them. Bradley was barely eighteen. There is nothing indicating rape or murder," Ziva said.

"That doesn't mean anything. It could either mean that he didn't get caught before or that Allison McGee was his first victim," Tony said.

"Anything else?" Gibbs asked.

"Yes. I made some calls and was able to verify Sandra Griffin's story. She knew both Bradley and Allison McGee. All three grew up in the same neighborhood. Bradley and Allison dated in high school, all the way up until he joined the Marines," Ziva said.

"When was that?" Gibbs asked.

"January 4, 1977," Ziva said.

Gibbs sighed. That was the year before McGee was born. Their theory was looking more and more accurate.

Just then, Gibbs' phone began to ring. He immediately picked it up and answered it. "Yeah, Gibbs. Be right there, Abs," he said before hanging up.

"Boss?" Tony asked nervously.

Gibbs looked at him for a minute before walking away without saying a word.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Gibbs walked into Abby's lab a few minutes later. He found her standing over the DNA computer. "Abs."

Abby turned to him. "Gibbs, good you're here. How's the case going? Have you cleared McGee yet?"

"Working on it, Abs. You got my results?" Gibbs asked.

"Gibbs, Timmy didn't do this, and even if he did, that guy deserved it for killing his mother," Abby said. The situation had finally been explained to her and she agreed with everyone else. Bradley deserved to die.

"Abby, later. What have you got from me?" Gibbs asked impatiently.

"Right. Well, I compared Bradley's DNA to the hair from the comb you gave me. It's a match. There's no doubt. Bradley and whoever that comb belonged to are father and son," Abby said.

Gibbs sighed sadly. Well, it was done now. It was no longer a theory but a fact, one McGee would have to live with for the rest of his life. The man he hated so much, that may have murdered his mother, was his father.


	13. Chapter 13

Gibbs walked up to McGee's apartment and knocked on the door. As much as he didn't want to, he had to tell McGee the truth. It was going to come out in the investigation and he wanted the younger man to hear it from him.

Tim opened the door a second later. "Boss, what are you doing here? You here to arrest me?"

"No, but I do need to talk to you," Gibbs said before making his way inside. "Anyone here?"

Tim closed the door behind his boss. "No. Sarah went back to school an hour ago. I had her here for a while because I thought you'd try to question her."

"Been trying hard not to," Gibbs said. He had considered questioning McGee's sister, but he didn't wanna do that unless he had to. He knew how his agent felt about his sister.

"Should I call my lawyer for this?" Tim asked. He didn't really feel the need to contact his lawyer for a talk with Gibbs, as he trusted his boss, but he was trying to do what both his lawyer and Gibbs had advised him to.

"No. This isn't about the case. Well, it is, but it's more about you personally," Gibbs said.

"What is it?" Tim asked.

"You need to sit down. You're not gonna like what I'm about to tell you," Gibbs said.

Tim led the way to the dining room table and sat down.

Gibbs sat across from his agent. "There have been new developments in the case that go back to your mother's murder. It seems that her murder may not have been what everyone thought."

"What are you talking about? My mother was murdered because Bradley was a rapist and wanted to make sure she couldn't tell anyone what he did to her. He picked a woman off the street to rape and then he killed her," Tim said angrily.

"No, he didn't. Your mother's murder was not just some random act of violence, not if it was perpetrated by Bradley anyway," Gibbs said. Actually, he doubted it was random even if it wasn't committed by Bradley. His gut told him this had been personal either way.

"What do you mean 'if'?" Tim asked. He didn't like the way his boss said that. It sounded like he wasn't sure of Bradley's guilt.

"There's reason to believe that he might not have done it," Gibbs said.

"What the hell are you talking about? Of course he did it. He left his DNA behind. Just because the authorities screwed up in obtaining the evidence doesn't mean it's not credible. He raped my mother!" Tim yelled.

"I'm not disputing that it was his DNA, and if he was a stranger, I would say that he was definitely the killer. But they weren't strangers. Your mother knew him," Gibbs said.

"What?" Tim asked in disbelief. "That's not true, Boss. My mother never knew Bradley. He was just some monster that caught her late at night."

"There's a witness that says otherwise. She says that she knew both your mother and Bradley and that they knew each other. There's physical evidence to support that claim. They knew each other, and it's possible that Bradley didn't have to rape her to leave his DNA," Gibbs said.

"No," Tim said as he stood up angrily. He knew where this was going and he wasn't going to listen to it. His mother did not sleep with Bradley. "My mother was not that kind of person, Gibbs! She was not having an affair!"

"McGee, having an affair doesn't make her a bad person. She can still have been the woman you knew while making some mistakes," Gibbs said.

"No! This isn't true! She wasn't having an affair!" Tim yelled.

"She was. We have proof of that," Gibbs said.

"No, you have the word of somebody who had a connection to Bradley. She's lying!"

Gibbs shook his head sadly and stood up. He then reached inside his jacket pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. "It's more than that. We have physical proof. I'm sorry, Tim. This is going to be painful whether he turns out to be guilty or not," he said before holding out the piece of paper for his agent.

Tim stared at the piece of paper for a minute before hesitantly reaching out and taking it. He unfolded it and began examining it.

"I took a comb from your desk and asked Abby to compare the DNA. I had her write up a report on her findings because I knew you wouldn't believe it otherwise," Gibbs said.

Tim was staring at the piece of paper with a mixture of shock and horror on his face. According to this, his mother had more than just had an affair with Bradly. She'd had a child by him. Him. If this was right, Bradley was his father. The man he'd hated, who'd murdered his mother, was his father."

Tim shook his head. No. This man couldn't be his father. His father was John McGee. He was not the man that Tim had spent the last fifteen years dreaming of killing. "Abby's wrong. She made a mistake."

"You and I both know Abby hardly ever makes mistakes," Gibbs said.

Tim angrily tossed the piece of paper that had just changed his whole life away. "Well, she did this time! That man was not my father!"

"Tim, he had a photo of you in his desk at his house from when you were a boy," Gibbs said.

Tim looked at his boss surprised.

"He knew you were his son. I'd guess that he knew before the murder of your mother. How long at that point, I don't know," Gibbs said.

"H…he can't be," Tim said as his voice broke. This couldn't be right. This man could not be his father. How the hell was he supposed to live with that.

"He was," Gibbs said as he sat back down.

Tim collapsed back in his chair. He was quiet for several minutes before speaking again. "Why didn't she tell me. Why did she let me grow up thinking someone else was my father?"

Gibbs shrugged. "Can't answer that. At this point, no one can."

"Why didn't he say anything? He let everyone believe that he didn't know her during the trial. Why didn't he tell the truth about having an affair with her?" Tim asked as he looked down at the table.

"Maybe he thought it would make him look more guilty. He might have thought that it just gave him a bigger motive to kill her. Or maybe he was trying to protect you," Gibbs said.

Tim looked up at Gibbs surprised and confused. "Protect me?"

"You'd just lost your mother. He might have felt that you didn't need to know that she was sleeping with him or that the man you thought your father was wasn't. Again, we'll never know for sure," Gibbs said.

"Do you think he was innocent?" Tim asked. He couldn't believe he was even considering such a thing. A few hours ago he never would've considered it. But things had changed since then. Everything he thought he knew had just been stripped away, including the identity of his mother's killer.

"I don't know. Can't say he did or didn't right now," Gibbs said.

Tim shook his head in disbelief. This was all just so unreal. He almost expected to wake up and find out it was all an extremely weird, vivid dream. But that wouldn't happen. This was real and either way it ended, he would be dealing with it for a long time. "I'm not sure which outcome is worse. That you find out he's guilty or that you find out he's not. If he did it, my own father killed my mother. If he didn't, I hated a man I should've loved."

"Tim…"

"I hated him, Gibbs. I hated him so much that I would've killed him if I saw him. Hell, I tried to kill him. I took my father's gun and I set out to find and kill him. If the cops hadn't found me, I could've killed my own father. If I'd seen him even once while he was living here, I would've killed him," Tim said. That was really eating at him right now. He would've killed Bradley if he'd seen him. Yesterday that didn't bother him in the slightest, but now he knew that the man was his father and might be innocent. Now it haunted him.

"But you didn't kill him, McGee. We're going to find out who did, and we're gonna find out one way or another if he killed your mother," Gibbs promised. He meant it. He was not going to let his agent spend the rest of his life wondering if his mother was murdered by his father. He would find out for sure.

"You can't promise that," Tim said.

"Just did. I will get an answer," he said.

Tim sighed. "Please leave. I need to be alone."

Gibbs nodded and stood up. "My door's open if you wanna talk," he said before heading to the door.


	14. Chapter 14

The next day, Gibbs walked into Jenny's office. "Need another interview with Admiral McGee?"

"For what? You really expect him to say anything different now than he did two days ago?" Jenny asked. She didn't see the purpose of speaking to the Admiral again. He'd been extremely unhelpful last time and had quite frankly been an ass. About the only decent thing he did was not give them any information on his son, something she couldn't say out loud that she was grateful for, but she was. There didn't seem to be much point in speaking to him.

"He's a suspect," Gibbs said. The new information about Bradley and Allison McGee, plus McGee's paternity made the Admiral a much bigger suspect in both murders. Gibbs prayed he wasn't guilty though. The last thing his agent needed was to find out that the man he thought was his father killed both his parents.

"He was a suspect two days ago too," Jenny pointed out. This was nothing new. It certainly wasn't good enough to get another call in.

"Yeah, well, he's a bigger one now and not just for Bradley's murder," Gibbs said as he put a copy of the DNA results on Jenny's desk. He didn't like having to tell her McGee's business, but he didn't really have a choice. It was evidence in Bradley's murder. They wouldn't be able to keep it under wraps.

Jenny picked up the piece of paper and examined it. She then looked up at Gibbs shocked. "Does McGee know about this?"

"Wouldn't be telling you without telling him first. Told him last night," Gibbs said.

"I can't imagine he took that well," Jenny said. McGee had made no secret of his disdain for Colin Bradley. He'd even freely admitted to her that he would've killed him if he had the chance. Finding out that the man who murdered his mother was actually his father had to have crushed him. She felt for him. No one should have to learn that one of their parents was responsible for killing the other.

"Nope," Gibbs said simply.

"So Bradley killed McGee's mother because she rejected him and kept his son from him," Jenny speculated.

"We're not sure that he did it anymore. DNA evidence is immaterial now. They were having an affair. That's how his DNA would've turned up on Allison McGee. It's likely that there wasn't even any rape. All other evidence was flimsy at best, which is why he was acquitted. He might have really been innocent," Gibbs said.

Jenny looked thoughtful for a minute. "That's what you meant when you said the Admiral wasn't just a suspect in Bradley's murder. You think Admiral McGee killed his wife because he found out about the affair and that her son wasn't his."

"Maybe, maybe not. He's a suspect and he has to be investigated," Gibbs said.

"Your goal isn't just to prove McGee's innocence anymore, is it? You're looking to solve both murders." It wasn't a question. Jenny knew Gibbs well. He was setting out to give his man the closure he deserved.

"I promised McGee I'd find out who killed his mother. I will keep that promise," Gibbs said.

"I know you will, Jethro. You've never made a promise you didn't keep. I'll get you your MTAC meeting. It might take a day or two, but you'll get it," Jenny said.

Gibbs nodded and left.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Tony and Ziva entered MTAC to talk to Bradley's former attorney. They were immediately greeted with a middle-aged man with balding dark hair wearing a suit. "Derek Warren?"

"Yes. Agent DiNozzo?" he asked.

"Yes, and this is my partner, Officer David. We need to ask about a former client of yours, Mr. Warren," Tony said.

"Agent DiNozzo, you don't appear to be new at this. I'm sure you know that I can't talk to you about a client, current or former," Warren said.

"This client won't be suing you. He's dead," Tony said.

"Confidentiality still applies to the dead," Warren said.

Tony sighed. "Look, this man has been murdered and we believe his death is tied to the case you represented him in. Just give us a hand here."

He seemed to think about it for a few minutes. "What's the name?"

"Colin Bradley. He was…"

"I know the case. You don't forget the high profile ones. That case went nationwide. An Admiral's wife was raped and murdered. There wasn't a single news station that didn't cover it. There were dozens of reporters in and outside the courthouse every day. It didn't end once the trial was over either. The media covered it for months afterwards. So Bradley's dead?" Warren asked.

"He was murdered in his home and we believe his case may have something to do with it," Ziva said.

"It's a fifteen year old case. You think someone waited fifteen years for revenge?" he asked.

"We're trying to find out what happened. Is there anything you can tell us that might help?" Tony asked.

"Well there are certainly enough people who hated Bradley. He was threatened by the McGee men. In fact, the son threatened him in open court, but I'm guessing you knew that already," Warren said.

"Did you think your client was guilty, Mr. Warren?" Tony asked.

"Agent DiNozzo, I am not an idiot. The majority of my clients are guilty. Defending the guilty is something you live with in my line of work. When I first took the case, I was sure Bradley was guilty, and I knew with the DNA evidence, he would be found guilty. But I knew I'd get paid either way. Besides, I didn't have a choice. It was high profile and my firm was very interested. The case was assigned to me by the partners themselves," Warren said.

"Well, you lucked out when the DNA evidence was excluded," Tony said.

"It was obtained through an illegal search. Of course it was thrown out. It's a good thing. It would've ended with a lethal injection had Bradley been convicted. He would've died for a crime he didn't commit," he said.

Ziva frowned. "You just said you thought he was guilty."

"When I first took the case, I did. DNA evidence is hard to refute, unless there's some other explanation."

"And you found out there was," Tony said.

"Halfway through the trial. One of the paralegals at my firm learned that Bradley and the victim had a personal relationship. I was more than ready to present that to a jury, but Bradley wouldn't let me. He said he'd fire me if I even tried," Warren said.

"Why?" Ziva asked.

"He didn't say, but this all took place in the courtroom right before the trial resumed. Admiral McGee and his son walked in right after he told me not to say anything. Bradley looked directly at the boy. I looked between them. The resemblance wasn't overwhelming, but there was one. Bradley didn't let me bring it up because he was protecting his son from the truth," Warren said.

Ziva stared in shock. This man was saying that he believed McGee was Bradley's son, that he was the product of his mother's affair. Of course it sort of made sense with the picture of McGee as a boy in Bradley's house. She had not understood why it was there before. If they were father and son, it would make sense though.

Ziva looked over at Tony and saw that he was not shocked. He had already come to this conclusion. That must have been why Tony was so adamant about not looking further into Bradley's guilt or innocence. He was afraid of how McGee would take the news if Bradley was his father and was innocent, especially if he killed the man.

"What about after the trial? What happened then?" Tony asked.

"Bradley wasn't happy with the outcome of the trial. He was found not guilty, but in the eyes of the public, he was still a murderer. The DNA evidence was thrown out, but they all knew it was there. His life was never gonna be the same. And it wasn't. He was tossed out of the Marine Core with dishonorable discharge. Everybody stared at him when he was out in public, I'm sure. He knew he was convicted, even if not in a court of law," Warren said.

"Is there anything else you can tell us?" Tony asked.

Warren seemed to think for a minute. "One thing. There was a slight altercation after the trial between Bradley and Admiral McGee. It happened about an hour after the verdict was read and happened inside the Men's room. I wanted in just in time. McGee had him by the throat and threatened him. He told him to stay away from his son or he'd kill him. Then he let him go and walked out."

"Did Bradley say anything to you?" Tony asked.

"No. He left right after McGee did," he said.

"Okay, thank you, Mr. Warren," Tony said before signaling for one of the MTAC workers to cut the connection.


	15. Chapter 15

Tim approached the house of… his father. That was weird to even think. For the last fifteen years, all Tim thought about when he thought of that man was how much he hated him and how evil he had to be to take his mother's life. Now the man was his father. It still seemed like that couldn't be true, but it was. He'd looked at that DNA test for hours after Gibbs left, like he expected the results to change if he stared at it long enough. It didn't work.

Tim shut his car off and got out. I walked up the front door and walked inside. Once inside, he grabbed a pair of crime scene gloves from his pocket and put them on. His prints were already found here once. They didn't need to be again.

Tim walked further inside and into the living room. He stopped for a minute and stared at the bloodstained carpet, where Bradley had died. He of course had seen it before. He'd seen his body lying there right after they'd been called to the scene. Somehow it was different now that he couldn't be sure the man's death was deserved. It was different again knowing that the man was his father.

Tim went to the couch and sat down. He then picked up a picture that was on the end table next to the couch. It was of Bradley and a woman Tim assumed was Bradley's girlfriend. Tim was looking at the man in the photo like he'd never seen him before, even though his face had haunted his nightmare for years. He used to imagine the man killing his mother over and over again. Then he would imagine himself killing this man. But now he was looking at him in a different way. He was looking at every single aspect of this man's face.

The similarities weren't huge, but they were there. Tim noticed that he had a similar chin and nose to this man. They were really subtle similarities. You would only see them if you looking for them. Truthfully, he favored his mother for the most part. He'd been told that all the time as a child. He guessed that made it easier for his mother to hide the truth. Well, from everyone but the Admiral. Tim knew his father knew the truth. That fact was painfully obvious when he looked back at their relationship or lack thereof.

Tim was pulled from his thoughts by a gruff voice from behind him. "You should not be here."

He turned around to see his boss standing in the doorway. "Boss. How'd you know I'd be here?"

Gibbs walked over to him. "Went to your place to check on you, but you weren't there. I was hoping you weren't here either. You're still a suspect, Tim."

Tim held up his glove covered hand. "That's what these are for."

Gibbs glared at him, silently telling him he wasn't amused.

Tim put the picture back on the table and turned back to Gibbs. "I know I shouldn't be here. I'm not even sure why I came. Maybe I thought it would tell me who he was and if he was guilty. If that's the case though, it didn't work."

Gibbs sat down next to his agent. "We're gonna find out who killed your mother, and…"

"My father," Tim finished for him.

"Have you talked to your father, the man who raised you?" Gibbs asked.

Tim laughed humorlessly. "Even if the Admiral would take my call, he wouldn't give me any answers. He would either lie, claim he didn't know, or he would scream at me for bringing it up and tell me to leave it alone."

"Well, he doesn't get to tell you how to handle this," Gibbs said.

"He will. In his eyes, his word is law. He's lied to me my entire life, but he'll turn it around on me," Tim said knowingly.

"He may not have known," Gibbs said. Even he wasn't buying his words though, and that was before Tony and Ziva interviewed Bradley's lawyer. The way the Admiral dismissed his son made it very clear that he knew.

"He knew. I've thought about it since not long after you left. I thought about my childhood and how he treated me. I was always a disappointment to him. It didn't matter what I did, it was never good enough. Sarah, however, could do almost no wrong in his eyes. I used to chalk it up to me being a boy and him expecting his son to live up to a higher standard, but now I know the truth. He could never love me because I wasn't his," Tim said. There was no anger or resentment in his voice. Those would come later, he was sure. The only thing that reflected in his words now was clarity. He finally understood the way he grew up.

"Don't give him that excuse. He had a choice on whether or not to raise another man's kid. If he didn't think he could love you, which is a shame, he should've stayed the hell away from you," Gibbs said. This new information made him despise McGee Sr. even more. He took on someone else's kid, but given the way he treated him, that wasn't admirable. He should've left him alone.

"I don't understand why he did it. He never cared about me. Why would he let me think he was my father? And why didn't he just toss me at Bradley after my mother died. Was it the thought of losing to his wife's lover? Did he still believe Bradley was guilty?" Tim asked.

"I don't know," Gibbs said.

"And why did my mother stay with him for so long? She wasn't happy with him. I always knew that. In fact, looking back, the happiest I'd seen her was during the last few months of her life. It never occurred to me that she was having an affair," Tim said.

"It wasn't supposed to. You were a kid. Kids don't think about the possibility of their parents cheating. Well, most don't anyway," Gibbs said.

"I wish she would've said something. I would've understood. Well, not the whole father thing, that would've freaked me out a lot, but if she'd told me that she wanted to leave the Admiral, I would've understood that. I would've stood by her, even if it meant her moving on with Bradley. As long as he made her happy, I would've been alright with it. Maybe if all that happened, she'd still be alive," Tim said sadly.

"You can't think like that, McGee. You start playing the 'what if' game and it'll drive you insane," Gibbs said. He'd been down that road several times after his wife and daughter died. That alone nearly destroyed him.

Tim sighed. "Yeah, I guess you're right. For all I know, Bradley still killed her. He could've been much worse than the Admiral."

"One way or another, I'll find out. I'm not gonna stop until both murders are solved," Gibbs promised.

"What then?" Tim asked.

Gibbs knew what his agent was asking. He was asking what he was supposed to do with the truth when he had it. He wanted to know how to move on. Unfortunately, that was something Gibbs couldn't help with. "I can't answer that."

"Neither can I," Tim said quietly.

Gibbs stood up after a minute. "Come on, let's go. Staring at the scene of your father's murder isn't gonna do you any good."

Tim wordlessly stood up and followed his boss out of the house.


End file.
